Not only Node.js: AWS Lambda adds Java support

More programming languages will be added to the service, which has been used to build apps for multiple purposes

AWS Lambda, a compute service from Amazon Web Services that bridges functional programming and the cloud, is adding Java development capabilities.

Introduced in November, AWS Lambda previously has supported development via the Node.js server-side JavaScript platform. "This is the first in a series of additional language options that we plan to make available to Lambda developers," Jeff Barr, AWS chief evangelist, said in a blog post this week.

AWS Lambda runs code in response to events and automatically manages compute resources, making it easy to build applications that respond quickly to new information, AWS said. Customers have used the service to build applications handling image and document uploads, to process log files from AWS Cloudtrail, and to stream data, and there have been mailing list discussions about using it in traditional data processing.

"With the recently launched synchronous invocation capability, Lambda is fast becoming a favorite choice for building mobile, Web, and IoT back ends," Barr said. The service has been positioned as a zero-administration platform, saving developers from having to deal with instances of Amazon Elastic Cloud.

Java support should make AWS more palatable to enterprises, according to analyst Stephen O'Grady, of RedMonk. "Adding Java will substantially widen the potential market for the service, both because Java has a massive audience of developers and because it's an enterprise favorite."

Code can make use of Java 8 features, and developers can use the AWS SDK for Java to call APIs. Lambda expressions support was a highlight of Java 8, which was introduced in March 2014. AWS at this juncture is not prepared to discuss what other languages will be supported on AWS Lambda in the future, a company representative said.